Best Anime of 2008

Since the year is coming to a close in a few days, I figured we could get all our minds together and determine the best Anime of this year. Are there any you would like to recommend for good or bad? Give a reason!

Re: Best Anime of 2008

Code geass and Vampire knight. Code geass when i first saw it. I thought it was going to be a little dull because, It had robots. But, when i started to watch a few episodes.. It started to get good. Vampire knight is the best show ever! When i saw the first episode, i wanted to watch more! And, the openings and endings were so good.

Re: Best Anime of 2008

Grumble Grumble Grumble

Its difficult for the US anime fan community to judge the Japanese releases, as only a small fraction of the broadcast Anime series ever get a decent fansub release... Of the one's I've seen, I would have to pick Macross Frontier, as this is one of the few anime series that have been able to cross over in popularity into the non-otaku community, with its singles and soundtrack releases dominating the record sales charts in Japan, and currently dominating the Blu-Ray HD video sales charts...

For completed US/Region 1 releases, I would have to pick Gurren Lagann. Even though the series was rushed with a subtitle only release by Bandai Entertainment, the series was still able to show the qualities that earned it awards at both the Tokyo International Anime Fair, and the Japan Media Arts Festival...

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Re: Best Anime of 2008

i no alot of people would disagree with me, but i say THE LAST EXILE, because it really shows what love and be selfless is all about, not to mention the awesome story line and opening theme song , so in the end, nomatter what u say I STAND BY MY DESCION

Re: Best Anime of 2008

Well, i personally believe that Cowboy Bebop should make any "Best of" list just because of the sheer depth of every aspect of the show. Everyone has a back story that is explained in detail, they have memorable characters, and the ending is one of the best i've seen ever.

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Re: Best Anime of 2008

Let's see, some of the anime that I favored back in '08:

Code Geass+Code Geass R2
Simply put, the BEST of '08. (This is ofcourse MY opinion so dont start freaking out and start saying it isnt people) In my perspective everything about this series was top notch. Animation quality, music, plot, character and mecha design, and the casting of the VAs, all epic. I was rather caught off guard when the series started with the whole, "Japan has been taken over in war" concept and with its ironic setting of the former Britannian Prince Lelouch, working to overturn the Empire while his childhood friend, Suzaku, the son of the last prime minister of Japan worked for this Empire. Then the mecha designs...early on the series the only mecha I had my eyes on was the Lancelot but ofcourse as the series progressed the mechs kept getting cooler. (DUH) The music, very nice. Personally I enjoyed all the OP and ED of the series. Orange Range, FLOW, ALI Project, ah....fantastic.

Lucky Star
This series did, or rather is doing well for a "Slice-of-Life" genre. Based on the manga by Yoshimizu Kagami which is now headed into its 5th year anniversary, this story of normal high school girls and their daily stories is a nice breath of fresh air from all the fantasy action and all the other animes of the year. With KyoAni (Kyoto Animation) working on the series you knew that the quality was going to be good and...it was. Even with its simply designed characters the cast was able to grasp the hearts of many fans....some more obsessive than others. (Like the case in which led to two of the characters, Hiiragi Kagami and Tsukasa being registered as citizens of the town that the town in the anime was based off of) One thing that caught my attention early on in the series was the EDs. For the first half of the series all the EDs were themes of other shows sung by the cast of Lucky Star at a Karaoke booth.

Hellsing Ultimate OVAs
What can I say? The over the edge action of the series simply grasped my attention. High animation quality and interesting plot was more than enough to grab my attention. The action of it was simply awesome, possibly the best that I've seen in '08. Although for either the younger or faint of heart viewers might find some of it to be a little "extreme" but nonetheless I felt that it did good.

Minami-ke Okawari/Minami Family Seconds(Unaired in the US)
Yes, I know it still hasnt made its way into the US but I personally felt that this series should get a mention. Like "Lucky Star" it is yet another slice-of-life genre that focuses on the three girls of the Minami family and their daily life. Jam packed with "normal" daily situations this series managed to keep things interesting and funny in its 2nd season. This series is almost "too normal", except for two of the characters that seem a little..."off". Theres Hosaka whom always seems to have trouble keeping his top on and then theres the cross dressing Makoto, or rather Mako-chan.

Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro/Demon Detective Nougami Neuro(Unaired in the US)
Yet another series that still has not made its way into the US. Neuro is a demon that feeds off of "mysteries" but once he has devoured all the mysteries in the demon world he decided to move into the human realm. A nice mystery themed anime with a fantasy twist that did fairly well gaining attention. The plot is interesting enough to get hooked but its not as deep as the original manga as one would wish, but the animation quality was rather good and the rest of its quality isnt something to overlook either.

What I look forward to in '09:
-The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi-chan
-Ookami to Koushinryou/Spice and Wolf season 2
-Hagane no Renkinjutsushi/Full Metal Alchemist season 2
-Minami ke Okaeri (season 3)
-ToraDora! (Started in late '08 but is still ongoing)
-Toaru Majutsu no Index/A Certain Magic's Index (Started in late '08 but is still ongoing)
-Tale of the Abyss (Started in late '08 but is still ongoing)